Check out this mailer from Ald. Lyle...

It's a huge mailer and not something I could have scanned as my scanner can't render a document not much larger than 8x12. So I had to settle for only this one page. A shame too because inside the mailer is a map of the 6th Ward with many of Ald. Lyle's accomplishments and where they took place whether we're talking about schools, streetlights, or curb/gutter repair. The listing you see was cropped from the page you will see below.

All of those businesses are in place indeed we have several McDonald's and Burger Kings here in the 6th. Fresh Produce Grocery, I'm assuming, is in fact Fresh Family Foods near 95th & King Drive. Of course Fresh Family Foods is owned by Quench I Love Food Group who also owns the Quench restaurants in addition to Five Loaves Breakfast Cafe which is across the street from the Alderman's office near 75th & King Drive

But on thing I find curious, Garrett's Popcorn coming in summer 2011? Very cool to know that in the near future I no longer have to go downtown for caramel/chesse popcorn mix. There must be more about this although preferably not more news in the form of a campaign mailer.

Either way interesting to know that Garrett's is coming to a neighborhood location, but then the next question is where?

Ald Lyle mailer

Chatham SSA Discussed at CBA Meeting

Photo by Thelma Sardin

This isn't exactly an old topic as the idea of SSA has been seen here on the blog before. Story from The Citizen Newspapers:

The new SSA (Special Service Area) #51 for Chatham was the topic of Tuesday’s February Chatham Business Association (CBA) meeting. The CBA invited business owners and community members to participate in the discussion. Guest speakers included Anita Wilson, SSA #42 program manager and Krisann Rehbein of the Chicago Architectural Foundation. Rehbein spoke at last month’s CBA meeting about the importance of having community tours and how they can bring commerce to Chatham. At Tuesday’s meeting, Rehbein updated the body announcing that several people had contacted her since the last meeting to identify structures in Chatham.

The purpose of a SSA is to promote community improvement by strengthening community businesses. Businesses are strengthened with security, beautification and marketing initiatives through an SSA program.

Karletta Kelly, assistant executive director of the CBA, informed that there are only eight SSA’s on the south side of Chicago out of 51 city wide. “That tells you other parts of the city are taking advantage of this very wonderful program, an opportunity to provide services for small businesses,” said Kelly.

Wilson admitted that SSA’s have a stigma. “We have to raise the dollars by a property tax, but you get so much more than that when you really look at it,” she said adding that commerce increases in the community because of the added safety and cleanliness the SSA provides.

Joseph Caldwell, CBA Vice Chair for Economic Development informed that the SSA is not affiliated with CBA operations.

“SSA is not a CBA subsidy. It is an entity within itself,” he said.

SSA #51 has five commissioners’ applicants who have applied with the City of Chicago to oversee the program. The commissioners’ duties include regulating funding and insuring taxpayers get the most for their money. Kelly mentioned that training for the prospective commissioners will occur at the end of February.

The people pictured above are applicants for SSA commissioners. They're identified by the Citizen as quoted below:

SSA Commissioner applicants (l to r) Veta Caldwell-Charles, Stanley C. Rakestraw, Britt L. Savage, Darrell Garth and CBA executive board members (l to r) Joseph Caldwell, vice-chairman, Marino Orlandi, president, and Karletta Kelly, assistant executive director.

Wal-Mart, South Side workers chafe under union agreement

Crain's:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executives hand-delivered a strong anti-union message when they met with South Side construction workers to discuss building stores in Chicago's Chatham and Pullman neighborhoods.

About 70 people attending the meeting Tuesday evening lobbed heated questions about whether the nation's largest retailer would be able to use non-union labor and neighborhood workers to construct two Wal-Mart supercenters.

Wal-Mart has an agreement with the area's major construction union to build all new stores in Northern Illinois during the next three years with union labor.

But many neighborhood workers who attended the meeting said they are not union members and criticized the unions.

An executive for Wal-Mart, known for its opposition to organized labor, shared attendees' frustrations.

“We want everyone to be in play, but we can't do that here because of restrictions,” said Tony Malbranche, director of construction for the Arkansas-based retail giant. “We're trying to work this issue behind the scenes. It's going to take a lot more work to make sure people from the neighborhoods are involved.”

Read the whole thing!

VIDEO: Chicago Tonight - Aldermanic races

[VIDEO] Carin Marin leads the discussion on the various Aldermanic races throughout the city with Aldertrak (Early & Often) Jimm Dispensa, Chicago Public Radio (CPR) reporter Natalie Moore, and finally Chris Fusco from the Chicago Sun-Times. This video is 14 minutes and you will see a passing mention of 6th Ward Aldermanic challenger Roderick Sawyer. This segment aired January 31st.

Cook's black-owned business count topped counties nationwide, census says

Crain's:

Cook County had 83,733 black-owned businesses in 2007, more than any other U.S. county, according to the Census Bureau.

Data released Tuesday shows a 58% increase between 2002 and 2007, bringing the number of black-owned businesses in the greater Chicago area to 101,586. Receipts totaled $6.8 billion, up 42% over the five-year period. The 2007 count is the most recent available.

Despite that torrid pace, national growth rates for black-owned firms were even higher, according to data from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners, released Tuesday. The number of black-owned businesses in the U.S. reached 1.9 million, an increase of about 61%, while receipts rose 55% to $137.5 billion.

Now to attract some of those businesses here.

VIDEO: African American Bank

[VIDEO] Seaway Bank was featured on the WCIU program You & Me last Friday. You will see Walter Grady, said to be the longest serving bank CEO in Chicago as well as feedback from bank customers. Duration is about a minute and a half.

Early and Often poll on upcoming races

Jimm Dispensa of Aldertrack and Early & Often  posted this survey on Facebook...asking for predictions for the upcoming elections (mayor, clerk, and all disputed Alderman's races)

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&pli=1&formkey=dHYydXNhaUNLbFZ6aXowSUo5dmt5N2c6MQ#gid=0

Chatham/Avalon Park Community Council: 6th Ward Monthly Ward Meeting

UPDATED 7:44 PM Here is a flyer for this month's meeting from the Ald's office

Feb. 2011 Mtg Notice

For an interesting change the Chatham/Avalon Park Community Council blog beats us to the punch of alerting us to this month's Aldermanic meeting:

• February 10, 2011 (Thursday) 6:30pm - 9:00pm
  Wesley United Methodist Church
  201 E. 95th Street

I expect that there will be more details as to what happens at this meeting in the near future.

UPDATED: Fox Chicago News Friday - focusing on the 6th Ward

At least 2 stories on Friday night's Fox Chicago news featured our ward.

I just found one story with Tisha Lewis reporting at first from 73rd & Prairie - Levois

City of Chicago, Residents Work to Clear Side Streets of Snow: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

The most prominent was about the snow removal (or lack thereof), with a big map of our ward and examples, such as 73rd and Prairie.

They reported that Ald. Lyle received 200 complaints.

Scott Waguespack threw out an idea i was thinking about -- showing a map of who gets what done and when.

We're at a place technologically where we could easily create a color codeed map to show when streets wer ebeing served.

Darlene Hill then did a story on Army &  Lou's. They noted that the catering business is still open, so there is certianly hope that the restaurant itself can come back.

We can post a link if available.

Free parking -- until TUESDAY at 9am

Just a reminder that you can park by a meter for FREE (if ther eis any room) , but ONLY until 9am on Tuesday.

This would be a great time to visit buisnesses hit hard by the blizzard.

This applies for every neighborhood outside of downtown (loosely bounded between North Ave., & Roosevelt, Halsted to the lake)

Community banking: ShoreBank's new name and mission

I intended to post the video above before the blizzard hit, but now is as good an opportunity as any.

There's also this story from CPR:

Some five months later, ShoreBank has new owners and a new name – Urban Partnership Bank. But is their mission the same? And how are they managing the troubled loans that helped lead to the closure of ShoreBank?

Eight Forty-Eight spoke to William Farrow, President and CEO of Urban Partnership Bank to find out.

Listen to the audio!

Chicago Public radio's Natalie Moore has a new book -events THIS week

Natalie Moore is a Chicago Public Radio reporter, based at their South Side Bureau in Englewood.

She grew up in Chatham and is a member at Crerar Memorial Presbyterian Church.

She has written a book.

Here's a Facebook announcement:

my next book comes out 2/1


www.blackstonebook.com

hope you can make it to a reading!

Natalie Y. Moore and Lance Williams will participate in a launch party and book signing from 7:00 pm—9:00 pm at The Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago, IL 60637) on February 7. Salim Muwakkil, senior editor at In These Times and host of WVON’s “The Salim Muwakkil Show,” will lead the discussion. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Connie Spreen at (773) 241-6041.

02/08/2011, 6:00PM

CLIFF DWELLERS CLUB

A discussion on gangs with John Hagedorn, author of "A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture."

200 S. Michigan Ave., 22nd floor, Chicago, IL





02/10/2011, 6:00PM

57TH STREET BOOKS

1301 East 57th St., Chicago, IL

773.684.1300





02/15/2011, 5:30PM

KENNEDY-KING COLLEGE, SIKIA RESTAURANT

740 West 63rd St., Chicago, IL

773.602.5200





02/28/2011, 6:30PM

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MANNING BRANCH

6 S. Hoyne Ave., Chicago, IL

312.746.6800

To book an interview with Natalie Y. Moore or Lance Williams or for more information about their book, The Almighty Black P Stone Nation (Lawrence Hill, February 1, 2011), please contact Laura Di Giovine, Senior Publicist, Independent Publishers Group, (312) 337-0747 ext. 282 or laura@ipgbook.com

Concerned Citizens of Chatham: CSU Resource Fair

Worlee at Concerned Citizens of Chatham, provides pictures and a brief report about last Satuday's resource fair. Also noted is the elected officials (including Alderman Lyle) there in addition to the many city, county, and state agencies. Also Worlee makes note about the absence of the community organizations:

It should be noted that all the community based organizations of the 6th ward were invited only the West Chatham Improvement Association participated. If the CBO's want to be taken serious they are going to have to step up and work with other organizations.

Also expect there to be another such event in the future from Chicago State.

Tribune endorses Cassandra Goodrum Burton...

Well this link provided endorsements for the first 10 wards of the city council:

6th Ward: All but two of the public schools in this ward are on probation. Foreclosure rates are high. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush even threatened to move his congressional office elsewhere because of violent crime in the area. The ward needs a leader who is committed to reducing violence, pushing for education reform and bringing jobs and economic development. Ald. Freddrenna M. Lyle hasn't provided that strong leadership. Business groups say she at least listens to them on some issues now, but this ward could do better. This may be a race between Lyle and Roderick Sawyer, son of the late mayor Eugene Sawyer. But the strongest candidate is Cassandra Goodrum Burton, a former assistant state's attorney who specializes in family and juvenile justice issues in private practice. She was head of the local school council for McDade Classical School. She's firmly committed to development. "If you have people not working at all," she told us, "any job is better than none." She wants to work with Chicago State University to turn the college into the ward's economic engine, much like UIC has been for the Near West Side. Goodrum-Burton is endorsed. There are three other candidates.

More alley clean ups needs

Well this comment was posted for an interesting change on the "Blotter". The only refer to themselves as trapped:

trapped said...

Ald. Lyle! Streets and San! Help!

The 7600 alley between Vernon and Eberhart has not been flattened. Was it skipped from some reason? I'm in the middle of the block and need to get several children to and from school.
February 6, 2011 4:17 PM

Today on the FB page another man vents about not being able to get through his alley

All I want to know is why haven't the city been down my alley with a truck to make track's. I am at 75th and Perry. My car is stuck in the garage and I can't get 100 feet without getting stuck. We have atleast an average of 3ft. with a high of atleast 5ft. I need to get supplies for my family not to mention take my... children to daycare and get to work on monday.

In addition I have posted additional pictures of an alley in the Blizzard pics album. Check out the comments there. Ald. Lyle even chimed in on alley clean-up:

Yesterday the City cleared 150 alleys, pulled garbage from 32 alleys, opened streets and intersections. They continue to work today to clear more alleys. The ward extends from 67th & Green to 99 & Cottage, so there are a lot of alleys to clear.

It appears help is on the way, but it may well take some time.

BTW, the alley of which I have been taking pics well it was halfway cleared thanks to a private contractor. A nice family on that block paid $500 for their services. Of course thanks to a van that has been parking back there more work needs to be done to clear that alley, yet.

Feel free to continue to let us know about what's going on in your area as far as your streets and alleys. Send an e-mail to thesixthward @ 1chicago.net. Or just write on the FB page. If you use Twitter send a tweet to us @thesixthward. You can always write a comment here on the blog as well.

Also if you have pictures to share send them to blog+web@thesixthward.us. We'll just add them to the blizzard album with proper attribution.

Everybody Hates a Blizzard....

but Pity the Politicians Whose Wards Got Short Shrift from the Chicago News Coop. Mostly about Ald. Lyle and how she's handled the blizzard. Surely there are other stories of other Aldermen around the city who's facing the same difficulty:

“We don’t have all the equipment that we need because it is all on the North Side, because they are concerned with Lake Shore Drive,” said Ms. Lyle, who faces five re-election challengers, including the son of former Mayor Eugene Sawyer. “Either we laid off too many people and we can’t provide services to the entire city, or people once again don’t understand that the heart of the city is its neighborhoods.”

Ms. Lyle said she visited the Loop on Thursday evening and watched with envy as city crews blocked off LaSalle Street “so they could clean curb to curb.”

Responding to the storm sapped precious time and energy from aldermen in the midst of campaign season. They would have otherwise spent last week going door to door in the cold to remind constituents of new parks and libraries and schools that have risen under their stewardship. As with the allocation of those resources, which are doled out by the mayor’s office, City Council members ultimately do not determine what snow equipment is sent to their wards.

Aldermen don’t want snow removal “to be their Waterloo,” Ms. Lyle said, “because we don’t control it.”

That may well be true. But one Aldermanic candidate won't gloat about it this time around:

One of Ms. Lyle’s re-election challengers, Roderick Sawyer, said he would not try to capitalize on the issue, even though he and neighbors in Park Manor had hired a private plow to clear their block. “I am aware of how the system works, and I would not unfairly criticize her,” Mr. Sawyer said.

He agreed with her view that other areas had received better treatment than the 6th Ward. “A friend of mine in Beverly called me and he said he was wondering if it even snowed there” because the streets of the clout-heavy 19th Ward were cleared so quickly, Mr. Sawyer said, chuckling.

So an inequitable distribution of resources in our city.

VIDEO: Ald. Lyle and Richard Wooten

I wanted to post these videos last month and I wanted to post them individually, but today I had to do something different. These two videos related to two subjects. Restaurants and the Chatham neighborhood. Wooten has less time in his video to talk about them as Ald. Lyle who had roughly a 30 min. video to talk about a variety of subjects in addition to restaurants & Chatham.

The only reason I hadn't rolled them out soon was that it was kind of hard for me to really focus and transcribe quotes from Ald. Lyle's video. So now this is a case of compare and contrast today. Although what I would have you do is relate that to the news as far as restaurants here in our communities such as Army & Lou's.

First is Ald. Lyle on Issue Forum

Click To Play

In this video, her and host Kristopher Anderson (who's affiliated with the Young Democrats of America) would cover topics such as why people should move to the 6th Ward or Chatham. She especially explains the value of houses in our part of town. In addition to the eateries in our community she spouts out such as Five Loaves, Brown Sugar Bakery, Army & Lou's, as well as Captain Hardtime. In addition to that the new shops that have opened at Chatham Village Square in addition to towards the end a discussion of the Chatham neighborhood.

Below is Wooten's video, "What's wrong in Chatham"

This roughly one minute video almost exactly follows this write-up you can find over at Wooten's campaign website:

Crime! Foreclosed housing! Newer neighbors lacking respect for traditional community values! Lower property values and a declining business sector are the major ills affecting Chatham. Add to this an Alderman not recognizing that Chatham won’t be able to attract new families to an aging community if most of the schools are on probation, or that Chatham’s small business district isn’t growing.

In this video Wooten notes that Chatham is a "restaurant desert". Although I would like more info as to how he had come to his conclusion.

Some compare and contrast. Ald. Lyle may well indicate that we're not a restaurant desert while Wooten says something different. Although yeah we've heard that Army & Lou's had closed for the time being. That's very unfortunate news for this community.

BLIZZARD 2011: Snowed In!

Another posting at the Ask for help, lend a hand: Blizzard 2011 website found via our Blotter:

The snow needs to be cleared out of the alley between 86th & Prairie and 86th and Calumet. The snow is piled high and there is mostly elderly people on these blocks, so they can't go out and clear the alley themselves.

Good to know there are others in our community who needs help clearing our alleys.

Also check out this ABC7 article which quotes not only Ald. Lyle but also a constituent:

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle said many people are calling her 6th Ward office concerned about the snow removal efforts.

She says the strong winds created waist high drifts in some streets, which means some her constituents can't get to work.

"My concern is really beyond the fact that people are losing money not being able to get to work," Lyle said. "I have so many seniors out here and there are so many seniors all over the city and people who have doctors appointments and they have dialysis treatments they've got to get to."

"It wasn't a problem. It's just something we have to deal with. The city can only do so much," said Thomas Taylor, a 6th Ward resident

Taylor said he and some other men cleared the snow from their block.

Finally back to the subject of the alleys, found this posting over at the Edgewater Community Buzz blog about the response of their Alderman and a potential solution:

Alderman Mary Ann Smith's office reminds us that the City of Chicago does not plow alleys as it would pile up snow against garages and dumpsters. Streets and Sanitation will run large trucks through the alleys to create ruts for vehicles to pass, but with this large of a snowfall it is unlikely to help. Residents are encouraged hold "snow removal parties" and shovel their alleys clear themselves. Has anyone hosted an alley party or removed the snow from their alley themselves??

Is there anyone out there who has joined with their neighbors to clear either their streets or their alleys? Let us know here!

Did you get any mail yet?

Just wondering if anyone has gotten any mail yet?

I haven't recieved anything since Monday. Now, i undertsnad maybe Tuesday, definitely Wednesday. But by Friday, our walkway was definitely clear.

And when I visited the post office on Cottage Grove at 3 pm on Friday, the window was closed because the staff was on break (for lunch?_. Several people were standing in line.

Maybe I am a bit bitter because I haven't received a couple of packages that we need here at the home.


But does this really make a case for keeping our post office open?
 
And how does this compare with other parts of the city?

SUN-TIMES: South Side soul food legend Army & Lou’s closes

Photo by Scott Stewart/Sun-Times

UPDATE 12 Noon Columnist Dawn Turner Trice did a story on Army & Lou's as well today! Something in this article indicates that Izola's is closed as well. Is that true?

This is making the news everywhere isn't it? We knew about it on Saturday thanks to JP Paulus, then it moved over to the Tribune earlier this week, and now the Sun-Times has the story on this historic establishment. Customers included not only Harold Washington, but also Dr. Martin Luther King.

Here's more:

But South Side soul-food legend Army & Lou’s, 422 E. 75th St., thought to be the oldest black-owned restaurant in the Midwest, closed its doors for the last time Sunday.

“It’s really just due to the economy. People are not eating out as much,” said one of the five partners, Goldie McDuffie. “We had to close. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

For 65 years, Army & Lou’s has fed celebrities, politicians, business moguls and others who slid into its red linen-tableclothed booths for greens and ham hocks, catfish, chitterlings and peach cobbler. Celebs ranged from Cab Calloway to Muhammad Ali to former U.S. Sen. Charles Percy.

...

Army & Lou’s relocated to its current site in the 1970s, following a different migration: Chatham was where many middle-class and affluent blacks were moving then.

It was bought in 1973 by another husband-wife team, Mary and Charles Cole, who retired and sold it in 1987. It flailed a little, then its last owner, Dolores Reynolds, purchased it with two partners in 1992. Two years later, tragedy struck. One of the partners was murdered at the restaurant by a former employee, and Reynolds was left running the restaurant on her own, until a year ago, when a group of younger investors bought in.

“We tried to rejuvenate the business,”said McDuffie. “Things started tapering off probably in May, but we held on. Then we just couldn’t hold on anymore.”

This whole article is worth a read when you get a chance.

UPDATED: Storm reminds city dwellers of alleys' importance

Click to pic page

Another article from the Tribune, this time focused on the alleys :P

Lake Shore Drive is open, as are other major thoroughfares, and city crews have started to clear side streets.

But snowplows won't be moving down alleys, arteries that are no less important to city dwellers. Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne says plows might do more harm than good, pushing snow up against garage doors. Garbage trucks, however, will try force their way down alleys to make tracks for cars, he said.

(Earlier, Ray Orozco, mayoral chief of staff, said work on alleys won't begin until "after Streets and San gets a handle on side streets.")

So, the mountains of snow in alleys will be removed from alleys only where neighbors on their own have put snowblowers and shovels to work.

Read the whole thing!

UPDATE 3:29 PM I already quoted from this Sun-Times article in the post with Ald. Lyle's quotes. But here's more about our alleys

Byrne then stepped to the podium and said, “The snow plan in effect was that we could get in contact with our provider — as many as 200 tow trucks. We brought in 84 tow trucks the night of the incident on the Drive. And those tow trucks worked constantly [all day Wednesday and into early morning Thursday] so we could get the Drive open.” 

Why did it take so long if tow trucks were standing by? Byrne said, “Every one of the cars was buried” in snow. Daley added, “It was huge drifts there. All of the sudden, it accumulated very quickly.” 

As for the side streets, Byrne said he has 474 pieces of equipment devoted to that job, including more than 200 high lifts and backhoes. But, he refused to say when it would be done, when alleys would be reopened and when garbage collection would resume.

I think I understand some of this. The residents want you to clear the alleys but will be just as upset if you pile the snow against the garage doors. An odd catch-22, but it is what it is.

Looks like we'll be on our own with this issue for a little while longer. It was cool to see people get together to help clean out some of their streets the other day. And probably their alleys as well in some areas.

Ald. Lyle critical of city's blizzard response

From a Tribune article yesterday:

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle was frustrated with the response in her 6th Ward, saying only three salt spreaders were on the streets instead of the five she had been promised. And she said she also received fewer pieces of equipment than she expected to get snow off the especially narrow side streets.

"I don't know where they are, maybe in the downtown business district," Lyle said of the missing snow-removal machines. "It's important to clear downtown so people can get back to work, but it's important to clear the neighborhood streets so people can get back to work too."

Extraordinary times!

UPDATED 3:28 PM This quote from Ald. Lyle from Sun-Times:

“They didn’t release the trucks to do the side-streets until 10 p.m. [Wednesday], then they didn’t work all night long. We had snow plans put into effect years ago and, it seems like they all went out the window,” said South Side Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th)

“We don’t have the equipment we need to open up the streets so our citizens can get back to work. I’m getting killed out here. I understand the entire city was hit with 20 some inches of snow. But, I don’t think snow command is focused on neighborhoods. They’re focused on keeping the Central Business District open. But, people have to get to the Central Business District.”

Chicago teams-up and digs out

 

This video was shown on the news yesterday. The write-up has a quote from 6th Ward Aldermanic candidate Roderick Sawyer:

Even pick up trucks need an extra push along some streets. Fortunately, there always seems to be a group willing to help out.

"We want to make sure everyone is dug out, especially our seniors," said one neighbor, Rod Sawyer.

You may have heard a robocall from Sawyer in response to the blizzard and its aftermath.

Via Concerned Citizens of Chatham

An added bonus, "City politics and the big snow" from WGN

 

BLIZZARD 2011: Please plow the side street on 70th place (Calumet Ave) and the alley

Found this report via our Blotter on the website Ask for help, lend a hand: Blizzard 2011 which is a service of the Chicago Tribune, WGN, and the Chicago Weather Center:

Please, we need assistance with the side street of 70th place and the alleys down the entire block of 7000 S. Calumet. All are still covered completely in snow. We have quite a few elderly and handicapped people who reside on this particular block, your prompt assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Here's hoping they got a response for their troubles.

BTW, I have some photos in an album at the FB page which shows my own alley still largely unplowed a day after the snow storm ended. Here's an example near 98th & Michigan:

Looking at the alley south from 98th Street

The side streets at least look much better but I'm sure there are those of us who want to get our automobiles out of our garages. :P

BTW, if you have photographs that you would like to share of your neighborhood in the aftermath or even during the recent blizzard share them with us. Post them on our FB page or send them to an e-mail address JP had set up at blog+web@thesixthward.us.

I just heard this today, it was said that clearing the alleys of snow is the responsibility of the neighborhood. Is that true?

The Stew: Army & Lou's 'on hold,' its future dubious

 

I had intended to post this earlier but there was the blizzard and then there were addition comments in JP's post about Army & Lou's that was published this past weekend. This post links to the Tribune blog, The Stew , took a look at the news that JP posted here over the weekend regarding Army & Lou's located @ 422 E. 75th St closing at least for the time being:

The growth of restaurants in Hyde Park, Bronzeville and the South Loop has not been good news for restaurants located farther south such as Army and Lou's. The current owners (there have been several in Army & Lou's 65-year history) reportedly are hoping to attract new investors, perhaps an outright buyer, to keep the South Side institution alive.

Let's hope for good news. A permanently closed Army & Lou's would be a terrible loss.

BTW, the owner managing partner of Army & Lou's, Harry Fleming, responded to Worlee's comment made in JP's post:

Hi, my name is Harry Fleming and I am the managing partner for Army & Lou's. There seems to be a misconception that I would like to clear up. We have no connection with Pearl's Place. The previous owenr, Ms. Reynolds managed Pearl's Place back in the 90's for a few years. Again, we have no connection at all with Pearl's Place.

Thank you for your time. 

Pearl's Place is located at 3901 South Michigan Avenue

Also Mr. Fleming had an additional comment:

Our issue is not the general operations of the business but mainly economics. I love Gordon Ramsey and in the past he has approched Ms. Reynolds to do his show, but she declined. I'm of the same mind set because I've seen his show and it wouldn't at the end of the day be the "best" move for us.

We have an excellent business plan that several banks and the SBA have looked at and like very much. The issue seems to be leading money in the restaurant industry. Banks are extremely hesitant to put investment dollars into the industry. At least that what the banks tell me. We are currently searching for privet investors and partnerships with different universities like KKC, CSU, and Depaul. 

If you have any information or can point me in a particular direction please feel free to contact me at armyandlous (at) yahoo.com

Let's hope that Mr. Fleming and his other partners are able to re-open this restaurant so that I can pay that establishment a visit. Let it be soon!

Aldermen Lyle & Brookins frets about political response to blizzard

Men with snow-blowers clean 98th Street Wed. afternoon

UPDATE 3:01 PM For more on the political response to snow read a posting from Progress Illinois called: "The Politics Of Snow". They also refer to the Chgo News Coop article referred to below.

Chgo News Coop:

“We don’t have all the equipment that we need because it is all on the North Side, because they are concerned with Lake Shore Drive,” said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle, who represents the 6th Ward on the South Side and faces challengers in the coming election. “Either we laid off too many people and we can’t provide services to the entire city or people once again don’t understand that the heart of the city is its neighborhoods.”
...
“Once they had the main streets clear and the snow had stopped falling, they should have started sending salt spreaders through the neighborhoods,” said Ald. Howard Brookins (21st). “Now it will be more difficult. When it gets colder and everything freezes, the salt is not going to do much good.”

Like Brookins, Lyle said her ward did not receive help until about 10 p.m. Wednesday, many hours after the storm was over.

“I have people out there who can’t get to work because we don’t have the right equipment,” Lyle said. “They were looking for a sign that the city was coming to bail them out. The mains were clear by then. People want to know where the hell the trucks were?”

On Thursday morning, as she spoke on her cell phone, the phones in her ward office rang with calls from what she said were irate constituents.

“Everybody who calls ends the message with something like, ‘You know this is election season,’” Lyle said, her voice hoarse from a cold. “No, I didn’t know, thanks for reminding me.”

Lyle mentioned how Mayor Michael Bilandic lost his job at the polls after failing to deal with the Blizzard of 1979. But she said voters should not blame their alderman when they go to the polls in less than three weeks: “Nobody wants this to be their Waterloo because we don’t control it.”

Well this article is more about the quotes of two neighboring Aldermen. Read the whole thing about the criticism of how the city handled the blizzard.

NBC Chicago: Snowpocalypse Sparks Chico-Emanuel Shoveling Match

Why should Emanuel & Chico be up there in Logan Square helping out the people when the rest of us in the other neighborhoods would appreciate some help digging out of our homes? Del Valle good looking out for the homeless. :P

Should we look at how these Mayoral candidates would respond to a blizzard like we saw during the past 24+ hours? Is this a good response by Emanuel, Chico, and Del Valle?

You can read about those three gentleman's blizzardly adventures at the Ward Room.

Snow photos/info from the 6th ward

From Aldermna Lyle's facebook page:

Main streets get cleared first, then side streets. Looking at some of the side streets a plow can't help you, we'll have to send high lifts and trucks to dig out the streets and dump the snow. But please understand some of our drivers haven't made it yet either.

Please be safe -- and patient. A great way to pass the time -- catch up on old blog entries and COMMENT! Also let us know what you would like to see on this blog. We are also accepting submissions as well. E-mail us at blog+web@thesixthward.us

Here are some photos form our readers. We will update when possible.

From April Branch:

Sun-Times 6th Ward questionnaires

 

Needless to say, the Sun-Times has already endorsed Alderman Lyle, but lauded one of her challengers Cassandra Goodrum Burton. In any case perhaps you might be interested in the other candidates' questionnaires in this race for Alderman of the 6th

• Roderick Sawyer - This was a bare questionnaire unfortunately :(
• Ald. Fredrenna Lyle - Got the Sun-Times endorsement
• Brian Sleet - Haven't read this thoroughly, but Sleet has some good ideas
• Cassandra Goodrum Burton - Sun-Times liked her but not enough to endorse

Candidates Richard Wooten & Sekum Walker apparently didn't responded to the Sun-Times.

You can read other questionnaires for other municipal races here!

All in one resource fair at Chicago State University, Feb. 5th

All in One Resource Fair

Located in the Cordell Reed Student Union Building on the campus of Chicago State located at 9501 S. King Drive. Take place on February 5th from 10 AM to 2 PM. Do you plan to be there this Saturday. Flyer received from the Alderman's office.

CRAIN'S: ShoreBank’s new managers outline plans under Urban Partnership Bank

Click pic for bank's website

Well ShoreBank has been dead since August and their successors at Urban Partnership Bank is making even more plans for the future of that institution. More from Crain's:

The two former First Chicago Corp. executives running the successor to failed ShoreBank have more modest aims than the bank’s co-founders did. Rather than looking to construct a model of inner-city lending for other cities in the U.S. and abroad, the new managers simply want to create a profitable bank that makes its existing communities better and more vibrant.

In an interview Tuesday, Urban Partnership Bank Chairman David Vitale and CEO William Farrow outlined plans to transform the old ShoreBank from a real estate-focused institution into a more full-service, conventional bank providing modern deposit and payment services to consumers and loans to a wider array of businesses.

The two have no plans to increase the size of the bank, which used $140 million in capital from many of the largest financial firms in the country to purchase the assets and deposits of ShoreBank after regulators seized it last August. But that doesn’t mean the bank, with $1.4 billion in assets, can sit still, since a healthy percentage of those assets are bad loans that will need to be replaced by new loans.

In the meantime, they want to position Urban Partnership Bank as a lower-cost competitor to currency exchanges and other cash-checking outlets, providing transactional services like prepaid cards to the many South and West side consumers who don’t have bank relationships.

Read the whole thing! 

 

This approach might be necessary especially in the Chatham neighborhood which while may not be home to many Currency Exchanges, from what I can tell, but could use more services for the businessowner/entrepreneur.

Let's talk about the 6th Ward Aldermanic race

Click picture to visit CapitolFax.com

Well that's really the subject of today's Question of the Day at the Capitol Fax. They want some comments on the various municipal races around the state. That includes any races for city council and other races for Mayor other than of course Chicago. Rich Miller is trying to avoid that like the plague.

Anyway feel free to add any relevant comments both there and here about what's going on here in the 6th for Alderman.

Moseley Braun to Watkins: 'You were on crack'

One piece of news out of the mayoral race over the weekend. Of course I know there are those who will continue to support our former Senator, and there are those who weren't swayed by this theater one way or another. Anyway the short story is that Carol Moseley Braun went off on Patricia Van-Pelt Watkins at a mayoral forum at that famous Trinity United Church of Christ on Sunday. I'll let you be the judge as to whether or not this is a good temperament for an aspiring mayor.

Video above from ABC7!

BTW, courtesy of the Sun-Times a quote from our Alderman who is a Braun supporter:

“I’m not sure how much of it was fatigue. These campaigns tend to be physically draining, [but] I was very surprised. I don’t think it represented an ambassador of the United States government,” said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th). 

The rest of that article is about some of the other gaffes Sen. Braun has made during the course of this mayoral campaign.

Army and Lou's to close - maybe permanently, maybe temporary

I saw this on Rep. Constance Howard's Facebook page:

Celebrate the History, Legacy, and Institution of Army & Lou's Restaurant

Come out with your friends and family to celebrate the rich history and say farewell "for now" to ARMY & LOU'S, the oldest black owned restaurant in the Midwest. Eat your favorite meals and listen to live Jazz on Friday and Saturday. Enjoy the buffet and Live G...ospel on Sunday, 422 East 75th St., Chicago.

So I sent her a message asking about it.  Here's what representaive howard shared with me:

JP, Here is information from BERA, regarding why the restaurant is closing:

Alicia Spears talked with the publicity representative from Army and Lou’s and here is a summary of their conversation:

Restaurant owners do not know if they will re-open. They need funds, they need willing parties to commit to use of the site-not just verbal consent; they need consistent support, or investors willing to take over the 65 year old establishment.

Many people are going to the south loop restaurants where it is more trendy, a better sense of security, better parking. Since many African-Americans now live north of 63rd Street, they don’t want to come south.

Alicia Spears

Executive Director
Business and Economic Revitalization Association (BERA)
773-783-2636
200 East 75th Street
Chicago, Illinois
http://www.beraecon.com/

Here is Army' & Lou's website.

i hope this restaurant doesn't close for good. We already lost Yonni's. We can't lose this classic restaurant. In addition to the food and people, 2 standout qualities include the art display from a nearby art gallery, and a meeting room that could be reserved for meetings, gatherings, etc. I used it several times for my former organization's monthly luncheon.

Concerned Citizens of Chatham: Upcoming Mayoral Forums

A listing of Mayoral forums in our community and around the city courtesy of Concerned Citizens of Chatham.

Not too late to register to vote

If you missed the Jan. 25th deadline there is a grace period according to CPR:

The voter registration deadline for Chicago's February election passed earlier this week, but tardy residents are not yet out of luck. Grace period registration is now taking place.

"[This] allows the procrastinators who have not registered to actually register," explained Langdon Neal, chair of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

Normally, these late comers must vote on the spot, right when they register. Except, this year,  things are being done a bit differently.

That's because of all the confusion caused by ballot challenges, including the pending court case involving Rahm Emanuel's candidacy for mayor. So instead of voting immediately, grace period voters will be handed an application for an absentee ballot.

The grace period will end on February 15th. All you have to do is go to the HQ of the Chicago Board of Elections @ 69 W. Washington Street, Suites 600/800. Also note that early voting commences on Monday, Jan. 31st.

New business caucus wants Chicago to re-think ‘impediments to growth’

Another Sun-Times story and this caucus has ended offering our Alderman an endorsement:

Roper’s definition of “stepping up” is the “Jobs and Growth Caucus,” 20 sitting aldermen endorsed by the Chicagoland Chamber PAC who have agreed to push a job creation and business development agenda in the new City Council.

The caucus will be chaired by Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), owner of Ann Sather’s Restaurants.

...

The $112,000 raised so far by the Chicagoland Chamber PAC is a drop in the bucket compared to the millions that labor is expected to spend on aldermanic races again this time. 

But the group’s endorsement of 27 incumbents and eight aldermanic candidates is a prelude to a much broader agenda. 

...

The Jobs and Growth Caucus will work against those efforts and for a business agenda that includes eliminating the employee head tax and solving the city’s pension crisis.

“What we want from the Council is to take a look at those impediments to growth for companies. It could be a more refined tax and regulatory policy, getting through zoning faster, taking a look at licensing and permitting,” Roper said.

Ald. George Cardenas (12th) added, “This is not labor vs. business. We have something in common. We want to put people to work. Chicago must be open for business. We hear from New Jersey, from Wisconsin, from Indiana. Everyone’s attacking this state, this city that they’re better than us. We have a message to send to them that we’lll compete at every level on every detail to get businesses here so they can stay here and prosper.” 

The Chicagoland Chamber PAC made 35 endorsements, including 27 sitting aldermen. Seven incumbents got the nod, without joining the caucus. They include political powerhouses Edward M. Burke (14th) and Richard Mell (33rd) along with Aldermen: Pat Dowell (3rd); Leslie Hairston (5th); Freddrenna Lyle (6th); John Pope (10th) and Ariel Reboyras (30th).

If there is a time to think about bring jobs to this city as well as making this city business friendly now is the time.

Save-A-Lot coming to the old Dominick's store...

View Larger Map

According to this recent story from the Sun-Times in story that originally was about closing a Jewel/Osco at 6057 S. Western:

Residents will soon have a smaller, lower-cost and limited-assortment grocery alternative when Save-A-Lot opens five stores Feb. 24 on Chicago’s South Side, including one at 6701 S. Western Ave., a company spokeswomen said.

The other Save-A-Lot stores will open at 148 W. 79th St., 344 E. 63rd St., 6858 S. Aberdeen and 8240 S. Stony Island.

The Save-A-Lot stores, a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu, which owns Jewel-Osco stores, measure 15,000 square feet, on average, compared with a Jewel-Osco store averaging 45,000 to 55,000 square feet. Save-A-Lot currently operates eight stores in Chicago.

Even then you still don't have to go far to visit a Save-A-Lot as there are locations at 7908 S. Halsted Avenue, 10700 S Halsted St, and 7240 S Stony Island Ave. 

Englewood Aldermanic candidate seeks a Wal-Mart

The 16th Ward is a neighboring ward to the 6th as it largely encompasses the Englewood neighborhood. We here at The Sixth Ward had blogged an ABC7 story about some Englewood activists seeking a Wal-Mart in their community. Apparently it's part of an Aldermanic campaign platform this year according the Chicago Muckrakers:

Jobs are the topic of the The Chicago Reporter's latest issue. It's an issue everyone's thinking about, including Hal Baskin, a community leader and 16th ward aldermanic candidate from Englewood. The South Sider says jobs are the way to reduce crime in neighborhoods, increase safety at schools and improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents.

We mapped the number of jobs in Chicago by ward and found that the 16^th ranks almost dead last. Baskin, a reformed gang member who now runs the P.E.A.C.E. Center, proposes one solution to bring jobs into Chicago: more Wal-Mart stores.

...

Baskin has been one of the retailer's biggest supporters. "I'm not supporting big companies or unions," he says of the living wage controversy that's swirled around the discount store. "I'm supporting people in the neighborhood and they need jobs," Baskin said.

With plans for more Wal-Marts in the future, Baskin is pushing for a store in the heart of Englewood, where 63^rd Street and Halsted Street intersect. Like many Wal-Mart proponents, he laments the tax revenue lost when Chicago residents drive to the suburbs to shop at Wal-Mart. And he brightens up at the prospect of the hundreds of jobs that a Wal-Mart could bring if a local store were to open in Englewood.

I suggest you read the whole thing. It talks about how Wal-Mart benefited or may not have benefited the Austin neighborhood. Also let's not forget that Wal-Mart sought to build a store not in another minority community such as Chatham or Pullman but in a North side lakefront community such as Lincoln Park or Lakeview.

Via Curbed!

Talking more about Emanuel and the Red Line extension...

Since it appears that Rahm Emanuel will be on the ballot for now per a state Supreme Court ruling, we can further discuss his plans for extending the Red Line from 95th to 130th Street:

First on Emanuel's to-do list, which totals billions of dollars, is overhauling 10 miles of deteriorated Red Line track on the South Side from 18th to 95th streets, where slow zones cause long travel times.

Emanuel also seeks to extend the Red Line from its current south terminus at 95th Street by another 5½ miles, to 130th Street. Finally, he proposes to renovate Red Line stations and track north of Belmont Avenue. Some of the stations north of Belmont are in deplorable condition.

These aren't new ideas. Daley and CTA officials have wanted to get the job done for years. But with almost $7 billion in CTA capital needs that are not funded, talk is cheap.
...
But Emanuel, who holds 44 percent in the latest Tribune poll, pledged he will have all three phases of the Red Line project under way in his first year as mayor.

He will rely mostly on federal funding, a commitment that typically takes years to line up by completing the applications and studies required by the Federal Transit Administration. State funding and public-private partnerships to support reconstruction of rail stations are also envisioned by the Emanuel campaign.

"It's a heads-up to Washington, D.C., and Springfield that this will be a priority if I'm elected mayor," Emanuel said last week.
...
But Emanuel, who holds 44 percent in the latest Tribune poll, pledged he will have all three phases of the Red Line project under way in his first year as mayor.

He will rely mostly on federal funding, a commitment that typically takes years to line up by completing the applications and studies required by the Federal Transit Administration. State funding and public-private partnerships to support reconstruction of rail stations are also envisioned by the Emanuel campaign.

"It's a heads-up to Washington, D.C., and Springfield that this will be a priority if I'm elected mayor," Emanuel said last week.

Please note that this column from John Hilkevitch, the Tribune's transportation columnist was written on January 23rd a day before Emanuel was originally kicked off the ballot per a State Appellate Court ruling. We know that Emanuel is on board on transit issues, but what about the other Mayoral candidates? At that what about our Aldermanic candidates? Especially on the issue of the Red Line extension and how it might or might not benefit the residents of the 6th.

Via Edgewater Community Buzz!

From Saturday's 6th Ward Aldermanic candidate forum at Kennedy-King College

Worlee also did a write-up at Concerned Citizens of Chatham complete with photos. It was also indicated at Worlee's blog and in a write-up provided by the GCA that this forum will be aired on CAN-TV in the near future. Hopefully when that information is provided we will share on this blog.

BTW, I understand that Sekum Walker was there. Was actually wondering if he was going to be seen at all.

There are pictures provided by Leslie Honore at GCA and the write-up posted below. If there is any other coverage we should know about feel free to let us know.

WOOTEN: "Chesterfield & West Chesterfield, here's what's wrong"

In this brief video Wooten examines Chesterfield & West Chesterfield. This write up applies for both neighborhoods:

Foreclosed homes blemishing the beauty of this once, sought after single-family home area. Quickie drug deals and burglaries are disrupting the tranquility of this well-established community and certain types of families have started to ignore the time-honored values that this community is known for. This community also asks: why can’t they have the kinds of small and big businesses you expect to see in Northside areas? Should that still be a wish or a reality?

In this one he doesn't veer from the script at all so nothing new here. You should read his PDF editorials there isn't much difference between the two, only that well he changes Chesterfield for West Chesterfield and vice-versa:

Today, if you don’t o er our youth the options of being engaged in after school programs, you leave them vulnerable to bad in uences. Volunteering with our youth and mentoring young men in the ward has made that very clear to me. So my administration will work with our churches, schools and community groups to implement programs that allow kids the chance to stay focused on a positive future. Should we succeed in securing a grant from the Illinois Violence Prevention Agency, jobs would be created in the community aiding in the establishment of neighborhood patrols to report criminal and suspicious activities. Most people have no idea how the city’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) works! What some of us do know is that it was intended to improve poor communities. But the mayor abused it. Englewood and Park Manor would be on the top of my list! If we don’t stabilize the hardest hit areas rst, the spill over e ect will topple the best parts of West Chester eld.

So he wants to work on the destabilized neighborhoods of Englewood and Park Manor in order to protect that best parts of Chesterfield and West Chesterfield. Does this make sense?

UPDATE: Emanuel off the ballot for Mayor

UPDATED 6:26 PM Emanuel files an emergency motion to stay the Appellate Court Ruling pending appeal via Capitol Fax.

You can read this story from the NY Times.

You also can read a round-up of consequences from the Capitol Fax.

It makes you wonder doesn't it? Who wants Rahm Emanuel off the ballot? To be honest I haven't really been paying attention to this story as I already knew that the Chicago Board of Election voted in Emanuel's favor. I knew about the court case as well, but this for some was an unexpected ruling.

All that can be said was well I was glad to see him take a stand on the Red Line extension, but it doesn't do him much good if he's no longer on the ballot.

Chinatown closer to new field house, library

CPR:

Chinatown residents are inching closer to winning some city resources that they’ve lobbied for during the last several years. Chicago’s City Council allocated funding in September for a new field house to replace one that was torn down nearly 50 years ago. More recently, the Chicago Public Library and city officials identified a site for a new library branch and have started moving to acquire the property. The progress comes just as Chinese-Americans observe their 100-year anniversary in Chicago’s South Side Chinatown.

The field house has been a particular sore point for young and elderly Chinatown residents alike. “When I started fighting for this thing I had children,” said Leonard Louie, President of the Ping Tom Memorial Park Advisory Council. “And I think today my grandchildren are old enough to be able to use it. That's how long it's been.”

Louie himself used to play basketball at the old field house at Hardin Park, before the state tore it down in 1962 to expand the Dan Ryan Expressway. At the time, said Louie, Chinatown residents were promised that they’d soon get another field house. Instead, Louie and other residents say children now often play volleyball over sidewalk fences, because there’s no proper facility or community center. “It's definitely a problem because you just have kids hanging out on the street and looking for things to do,” said Louie. “You're in a situation where you're just asking for trouble.”

 

The Chicago City Council approved a $10 million allocation from the River South TIF District to finally build the facility near the southern end of Ping Tom Memorial Park. At that price, park leaders will likely have to pare back their original vision for the facility. “The original plans for the field house were to include a natatorium, which is an indoor swimming pool,” said Louie. But park district officials estimate that could cost anywhere from $15 million to $18 million. More recent field houses, like the Taylor-Lauridsen Playground Park and Jesse Owens Park, did not include swimming pools, and ran just below $10 million. Still, Louie hopes whatever the city builds could be expanded to include a swimming pool later. He and other park leaders are also exploring the possibility of raising additional money to fund the natatorium.

This story is worth a read. And this is the kind of thing I would like to see out of our community!

So is it true about Harlan students going to the White House...

Starting with this young man featured in a report from CBS News on the day of President Obama's inauguration. They never mentioned what high school Mr. Stephen Gordon was from, however, they did show Harlan's corridors and thus I could tell where that footage was filmed.

It was noted at the January Harlan LSC meeting that I believe this individual was the first to visit the White House. Another student paid a visit in 2010. Yet another it was mentioned another student will have an opportunity to introduce 1st Lady Michell Obama at the White House this year.

Harlan Principal Reginald Evans said it himself at the meeting as he wondered whether anyone at CPS HQ downtown will recognize that "something is happening here".

Wooten: What's wrong in Englewood?

Well you know the videos for the neighborhoods of the 6th from Aldermanic candidate Richard Wooten I've just decided to post them individually. Here's the video for Englewood which takes up only a small portion of this ward in the northwest corner. Here's some text to follow although it's not exactly word for word:

There are so many things wrong with Englewood that it’s no wonder some residents feel hopeless! Crime across the board is rampant! Vacant, deteriorating and abandoned properties are everywhere! A lack jobs and job training for our young and out-of-work middle-aged adults. Plus, there’s a huge need for affordable housing and more health clinics/ facilities. In addition, this area needs more homeless shelters and battered women safe houses.

I'll hand it to Officer Wooten, he is attempting to diagnose the issues of the individual neighborhoods here in the 6th.

The case for electing Chicago's school board

This issue has interjected itself in the Aldermanic race as several of the Aldermanic candidates have taken a position on this issue. CPR interviews Jitu Brown of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization to talk about his position on how to organize the Chicago Board of Education.